A year ago, Peter drove to San Francisco and filed the documents to
incorporate Coastal Organics Cooperative, a community owned and run
business selling natural and organic foods in Point Arena. We spent the
first five months renovating the Oddfellows Building, where they gave us a reasonable lease but a space in very poor condition. We hired local
contractors and local suppliers to redo the walls, electrical and plumbing
to support our growing business. We were offered extraordinary
refrigeration at an awesome price. We built counters and the cafe space
with some great benches and table tops. The space looks great and works well.

Sales

We opened in May and saw our sales and membership grow over the past eight
months. Sales during Thanksgiving exceeded our expectations and kept
strong through the holidays and the beginning of the winter season. When
Point Arena was without power from 3am to 8pm a week ago Tuesday, we kept the store open, offering free coffee and doing a brisk business selling
groceries to people with real needs. And we continue to grow today.

Bulk, Soup and Salad

Come into the store to check out our new offerings. Our bulk section is
the largest in the area and we welcome suggestions for items that would
sell well. We have a fully stocked salad bar with organic produce. And we serve two kinds of soups daily.

Produce

Look for a greater variety and quantity of produce under the care and
attention of our produce staff. We sell a lot of organic produce every
week and hope to keep offering local suppliers when their produce is in
season.

Kitchen

Our kitchen remains a high priority, but a continuing challenge, as we try
to figure out how to get all the pieces in place at the same time.
Meanwhile, we plan to cook some prepared foods to serve in the store. We hope to entice you soon with the smell of freshly baked cookies and other meal choices.

Staff

Arena Market provides jobs for 12-15 people each week, both full-time and part-time, working as barristas serving coffee and food, cashiers ringing
up your orders, produce staff looking after presenting our fruit and
vegetables, cooks in the kitchen, as well as our store managers.
Introduce yourself as a co-op member, since they work for you!

Membership

280 people in the community have become members of the co-op. Members own
the co-op. And the sense of ownership and energy really comes through
when people shop at the store. Several members also invested in the
business, providing money to help grow the inventory and build the kitchen.

Sale Items

We are finally mastering the cash register system because it has enabled
us to get more and more creative with our pricing. We can bring in even
more diverse inventory and offer new items at competitive prices.
Clearly, the goal of the co-op is to serve its members with products and
foods that you are looking for. With special orders, case discounts and
sale prices, we offer even more ways for members to get the food they
desire.